Study: Americans want more fuel-efficient trucks

WASHINGTON (Aug. 8, 2014) — Nearly three-quarters of Americans want medium- and heavy-duty trucks to increase their fuel efficiency, according to the latest poll taken by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

Seventy-four percent of respondents favored tougher fuel economy standards for trucks, while only 25 percent opposed them, the CFA said in an Aug. 7 press release. At the same time, only 56 percent of Americans realized that the fuel costs of truck fleets are passed on to them in the costs of goods and services, it said.

The CFA also released a new report, “Paying the Freight: the Consumer Benefits of Increasing the Fuel Economy of Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks.”

In that report, researchers estimated that each year the average

American household pays $1,100 extra for goods and services because of truck fuel costs, and that a 50-percent improvement in truck fuel efficiency would save them $250 annually.

“As the central transportation service in our economy, trucking accounts for nearly 90 percent of the total value of freight transport,” the report said. “Reducing fuel expenses will reduce the cost of transportation and thereby increase the demand for transportation services, which will have a significant positive multiplier effect on the economy.”

The CFA said it planned to submit comments Aug. 8 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, urging the agency to consider consumers as major stakeholders in calculating future fuel efficiency standards for trucks.